Who are we?
Sir Michael Rake - Chairman
Sir Michael Rake is Chairman of BT Group plc.
From May 2002 to September 2007 Sir Michael Rake was Chairman of KPMG International. Prior to his appointment as Chairman of KPMG International he was Chairman of KPMG in Europe and Senior Partner of KPMG in the UK.
He joined KPMG in 1974 and worked in Continental Europe before transferring to the Middle East to run the practice for three years in 1986. He transferred to London in 1989, became a member of the UK Board in 1991, had a number of leadership roles in the UK before being elected UK Senior Partner in 1998.
Mike has led a number of major global client service teams in the commerce and banking sectors. He has driven the role of corporate involvement in the community within KPMG and has been actively involved as advisor to government bodies and charities.
External appointments include Chairman of Business in the Community, a member of the Board of Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum and Vice President of Royal National Institute of the Blind. Mike is a member of the DTI UK/US Taskforce on Regulation. He is also a member of the Board of the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue, a member of the CBI International Advisory Board, the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum, the Chartered Management Institute, the Advisory Council for Business for New Europe and the Advisory Board of the Judge Institute at the University of Cambridge. Mike is Chairman of the newly formed UK Commission for Employment and Skills.
Mike is also a Governor of Wellington College and a board member of Guards Polo Club.
Mike is married with four children.
Chris Humphries - Chief Executive
Chris Humphries was appointed Chief Executive of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills with effect from 1 January 2008.
This appointment followed high profile national roles as Director General of the City and Guilds of London Institute, the UK's oldest and leading awarding body for Vocational Qualifications, from 2001 to 2007, and Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce from 1998-2001. Other relevant positions included Chief Executive of the TEC National Council from 1994-1998, Chief Executive of the Hertfordshire TEC, Assistant Director of the UK's Council for Educational Technology, and work in the private sector for ICL and Acorn Computers.
Over the last 20 years, Chris has worked actively with Government as an adviser on a wide variety of training projects, including the Open Tech Project, the Training Access Points system, the Prospects careers guidance system, and a variety of other public projects to develop the potential of new technologies for education and training.
From 1998 to 2000, Chris served as Chairman of the Government's National Skills Task Force, before being appointed as a founder member of the national Learning and Skills Council from 2000 to 2003, and is a continuing member of the national Adult Learning Committee. He is currently Chairman of UK Skills, and in 2006, led the successful UK bid to host the WorldSkills Competitions in London in 2011. He was a member of the national Skills Strategy Steering Group from December 2002 to 2005, appointed to the Board of the NHSU from 2003-05, and the FE Review Advisory Group in 2005.
An Australian by birth, Chris moved to London in 1974 where he still lives with his family. He was awarded the CBE for services to training and enterprise in June 1998.
Our Commissioners
Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the TUC
Brendan joined the TUC in 1975, becoming Head of the Press Department in 1979 and the Industrial Relations Department in 1987 before being appointed Deputy General Secretary in 1993.
Charlie Mayfield, Chairman, John Lewis Partnership
Charlie Mayfield became the Partnership's fifth Chairman in March 2007. He joined the Partnership in 2000 as Head of Business Development, for both John Lewis and Waitrose.
Chris Hyman, Chief Executive, Serco Group PLC
In addition to this role, Chris formed Serco's first global division, and implemented the first global practices across the company. Chris is also Non-Executive Director of United Business Media plc, the Prince of Wales' Charity In Kind Direct, Habitat for Humanity and the Borneo Tropical Rainforest Foundation.
Dave Prentis, General Secretary, Unison
Dave was UNISON's deputy general secretary from its formation in 1993 and drove through a strategic review of the union, aimed at delivering key reforms, to bring union services closer to the members.
David Brennan, Chief Executive Officer of AstraZeneca
From 2001 until his appointment to CEO, David was President and Chief Executive Officer of AstraZeneca LP, the Company’s North American subsidiary for the U.S. and Canada. He was appointed Executive Board Director of AstraZeneca in 2005.
Dr Bill McGinnis CBE, Northern Ireland Adviser on Employment and Skills
Bill McGinnis is Chairman of the McAvoy Group Limited (off-site building solutions). He is currently a Board member of Tourism Ireland, Chairman of Air Route Development Ltd and Non-executive Director of a number of public limited companies.
Grahame Smith, General Secretary, Scottish Trades Union Congress
Grahame was appointed as the STUC's Deputy General Secretary in 1996. In that role he headed the STUC's Policy and Campaigns Department and had specific responsibility for the STUC's work on lifelong learning and public services.
James Wates, Deputy Chairman, Wates Construction Limited
James joined Wates Construction as a management trainee, he took on the role of General Manager in 1989. Since then he has progressed through the company to be Deputy Chairman of the main Group Board. Outside the Group, he is involved with several industry bodies.
Jeremy Anderson CBE, Head of Financial Services for KPMG Europe LLP
Jeremy Anderson is Head of Financial Services for KPMG Europe LLP. He works extensively with global banks helping them to design and implement people, process and technology solutions as they deal with the challenges of a fast changing and expanding global market.
Julie A Kenny CBE, DL, Managing Director, Pyronix Limited of Rotherham, South Yorkshire
Julie is also a Board member of the Small Business Forum, Yorkshire Forward, Creative Sheffield and Vice-Chairman of the British Security Industry Association.
Larry Hirst CBE, Chairman of IBM Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
Previously, Larry was General Manager for IBM's operations in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and South Africa. In addition to his IBM responsibilities, Larry is an Advisor on the Presidential International Advisory Council on Information Society and Development (PIAC) for South Africa.
Liz Sayce OBE, Chief Executive, Radar
Liz Sayce is Chief Executive of RADAR, the UK's leading pan-disability organisation. She is a member of the Disability Committee of the Equality and Human Rights Commission and a trustee of Stonewall.
Lord Victor Adebowale, Chief Executive of Turning Point
Victor joined Turning Point as Chief Executive in September 2001. Turning Point is the UK's leading social care organisation, providing services for people with complex needs.
Nigel Whitehead, Group Managing Director Programmes & Support, BAE Systems
Nigel was appointed Group Managing Director of Programmes and Support, one of four Global Operating Groups in BAE Systems, in 2008. In this role he has responsibility for UK Businesses including Surface Ships, Submarines, Security, Systems Integration and Military Aircraft.
Philip N Green, Chief Executive of United Utilities PLC
United Utilities is one of the largest utilities (water, gas, and electricity) companies in the UK, ranked mid-way in the FTSE100. Philip's previous positions have included CEO of P&O Nedlloyd Container Line Ltd., where in 2004 he led the company to its successful listing as Royal P&O Nedlloyd BV in Amsterdam.
Professor Alan Gilbert, President and Vice-Chancellor, The University of Manchester
Professor Alan Gilbert joined the University in February 2004 as President and Vice-Chancellor-elect to plan for the launch of the single University. He formally took up his duties as President and Vice-Chancellor on 1st October 2004.
Richard Lambert, Director-General, Confederation of British Industry (CBI)
Richard became Financial Editor at the Financial Times in 1979. He became Editor in 1991 and during his 10 years in this role launched the US version of the newspaper.
Sir Adrian Webb, Chair of the Wales Employment & Skills Board
Sir Adrian was First Vice-Chancellor, University of Glamorgan from 1992 to 2005 and previous to that was Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Director of the Centre for Research in Social Policy, Loughborough University.
Valerie Todd, Director of Talent and Resources at Crossrail
Valerie has held a number of senior positions in local government. She is the founding President of the Women's Transportation Seminar (London), an organisation established in 2005 to be a voice for women in transport.
Willy Roe, Chair, Skills Development Scotland
Willy Roe is Chair of Skills Development Scotland, the Scottish Government's new agency serving employers, individuals and communities and acting as a catalyst for positive change in Scotland's skills performance.
Our Directors
- Geoff Fieldsend - Director of Qualifications Reform
- Jerry Lloyd - Director of Communications
- Kay Dickinson - Director of Corporate Services
- Michael Davis - Director of Strategy & Performance
- Mike Campbell - Director of Research and Policy
- Simon Perryman - Director of Employer Engagement